


Three and three quarter hours later

by asparagusmama



Series: After the end...? [4]
Category: Lewis (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-11
Updated: 2017-04-11
Packaged: 2018-10-17 17:38:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10598895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asparagusmama/pseuds/asparagusmama
Summary: Hathaway comes home to find he has friends and acceptance.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated with love to all my faithful readers who wait patiently for me to finish Poisoned Minds, White and Rare and Precious Chain. Real life and my health are not being kind, but finishing my WIPs is high on my sad little bucket list. I only hope I get them done before you all give up waiting.

Lizzie had just put yet another sticky note onto her boss’ computer screen, another note telling him his persistent sister had called. She could understand why he didn’t answer. His Dad was in a home, being cared for, and he had a job. Didn’t his sister work? It was almost as it she enjoyed interrupting his work out of spite.

Talking of jobs, he was taking a long time to put Inspector Lewis and Dr. Hobson on a plane.

The Chief Super, ‘Call Me Joe’, popped his head around the office door. “Any sign of James yet?”

Lizzie shrugged, just as her phone rang. It was Lewis’ private number. She answered it curiously.

“Hello?

“Oh, hello Sir. Shouldn’t you be on a plane?”

Just then, Hathaway walked into the outer office and started walking towards his.

“Oh. Oh I see.

“Well, I don’t really. I thought...

“He’s...”

Hathaway started frantically shaking his head and pointing to himself. Lizzie stared at her boss’s pale face as she spoke to her other sometimes boss.

“No, he’s not back yet Sir.”

“Can I what?

“Can I send you a what?

“I’m sorry Sir. But you’re only a consultant and on leave. Even if you were still an officer it wouldn’t be right.

“Of course you see that.

“Taxi?

“Well. Wouldn’t it be cheaper to get a Wycombe one to bring you to Oxford, than get one going out of Oxford? And quicker too.”

“Alright. I’ll look it up. Where will you be?

“Asda. Fine Sir. I’ll book you a Wycombe cab to bring you back... to where?”

“Dr Hobson’s house? Are you sure?”

Lizzie looked up to see Hathaway smile grimly, and if she didn’t know him better, rather evilly. She noticed Moody was still there, silent and eavesdropping and looking at Hathaway with burning curiosity.

“Okay. Fine.

“No, I think you ought to contact Chief Superintendent Moody yourself when you’ve sorted yourself out.

“Okay. Good luck Sir.”

Lizzie ended the call and looked up at Hathaway, as Moody looked down.

“Well?” Moody asked.

Lizzie looked at Hathaway, but he remained silent, looking down, his face flushing pink across the cheeks. Moody looked at her.

“That was Robbie Lewis. He’s stranded off the M40 in an Asda in High Wycombe. He says Inspector Hathaway ran out on him. He says he decided not to board the plane with Dr. Hobson,” she said helplessly. “Any further info Sir?” she asked mischievously, turning to Hathaway.

“Yes, come on, sit rep, James,” Moody said.

Hathaway sighed and came into his office further, shutting the door and sitting down on his desk. He looked at the post-its full of times Nell called and screwed them up into a ball and lobbed them into the bin the other side of the room, bowling over arm.

“Nice,” Joe commented.

“The good doctor and Inspector Lewis had words. In fact I believe she told him she didn’t want him on the plane with her.”

“Why?” Lizzie asked

“Me,” Hathaway said simply.

“Why?” asked Lizzie as Moody asked,

“What did you do?”

Hathaway put his head in his hands. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Nor did he. But it was enough for her to work it out. The nothingness of our goodbye.”

“What?” ‘Call Me Joe’ asked, as Lizzie, with a nervous look to the scarily nice, gently, Chief Superintendent, said,

“That you were lovers too?”

“Were. Yes, were lovers,” he replied, emphasising the ‘were’, “Before her,” Hathaway stumbled out insistently, blushing like a beetroot and not meeting her eye.

“She didn’t know?” Moody asked.

“No one knew. He didn’t want anyone to know. I was his dirty little secret. I went on holiday four years ago, well, it was a short sabbatical, voluntary work, the churches together charity, we had raised money for Kosovo orphans, we were building a new orphanage...” Hathaway trailed away, looking lost. Lizzie guessed he must have been very distressed, he never revealed anything about himself if he could help it.

Lizzie pulled her chair from her desk and sat opposite him. Moody squatted on his desk, putting a solicitous hand on his shoulder.

“I came home and they were together. Talk of the station. They kissed in front of me minutes after I got back. And after I cancelled my plans to get involved in his case.”

“Bastard,” Moody mouthed while Lizzie heard herself say, before she could stop herself,

“He always seems so nice. But I saw the way he looked at you sometimes. I honestly thought you were having an affair right now.”

Hathaway looked up, shocked. “Oh no! I couldn’t do that to Laura. She knew nothing about us. It’s not her fault. It’s mine, I was too clingy or something... too demanding. I wanted us to be together properly. Civil partnership. Then I panicked and started to think it was all a sin. I nearly died. A murderer nearly killed me while I was attempting an arrest. It made me go back to church. I thought he would give me time to work it all out.”

“I didn’t know you were religious, Sir?”

“He was nearly a Catholic priest. What?” ‘Call me Joe’ said, affronted, to the two accusing pairs of eyes, “I always read my officers files. Need to understand who is in your team.”

“I went on a proper pilgrimage, a long sabbatical. When I came back he had retired, and Innocent fast tracked my Inspector’s courses and exams, and then... then I was...”

“I right royal pain in the arse who couldn’t keep a sergeant more than a week,” Lizzie said, smiling. Hathaway grinned at her, nodding.

“And Innocent employed him as a consultant, she thought he would help me.”

“To be fair Sir, he did. You make a brilliant team.”

“I like to think, Maddox, you and I would have worked things out between us, with or without him.”

Lizzie thought about that for a moment. “Actually, we probably would have. But he acted like you were all mates, pints and meals and round his house...”

“He acted like we never had a relationship, that’s what!”

“Must have hurt, “ Moody said softly.

Hathaway snorted his self-depreciating, self-hating, little snort of his, “Oh yeah. You’d think.”

“What I think,” said Moody decisively, “Is that the three of us call it an early lunch, and Lizzie and I buy you a few pints.”

Lizzie nodded. Although going for a drink with both bosses would be a bit weird.

“And I also have a question, as I’m guessing he wants to come back here, do I say yes? You and he get results. But you’re my officer, James, and he is just a retired consultant. Your call, mate, your call.”

Hathaway looked at Moody, narrow-eyed and thoughtful. “Let me give it some thought. I thought I had six months to build myself up, recover, mend my broken heart, even if it was with string and sticking paper and glue...”

“Then, let’s leave it for six months, until he is supposed to be back. Then we’ll discuss it then, you and I, whether I renew his contract. And now, pint?” Moody jumped to his feet.

Hathaway stood slowly, “Thank you sir,” he said.

“Joe, call me Joe, James.”

“Oh. Fu- fiddlesticks!” Lizzie exclaimed.

Moody and Hathaway looked at Lizzie. She smiled helplessly. “I was supposed to Google a Wycombe taxi and book one for him. Whoops!”

“Such a shame,” Moody muttered.

“Better do it Maddox,” Hathaway said, “I didn’t mean to leave him stuck. I just panicked.”

“Fine. I’ll meet you both... where?”

“We’ll go to the Old Tom,” Moody said, “good food and few officers.”

Lizzie grinned at them both, “See you both.” Her boss, Hathaway was looking pale and wan, as usual, and unhappy, as usual, but a little less so, as if sharing his burden, however reticent he was, had helped a little. Given his Catholic self-hatred, the complete acceptance of his sexuality was probably helping too. But honestly, he was daft, it was plain as the nose on her face he was as gay as a very gay thing! But then, given her brother, perhaps she had a very finely tuned gaydar. Actually, come to thing of it, he was available at the moment...


End file.
